Janakpurdham, May 14

Province 2 Chief Minister Lalbabu Raut has noted that red tapism is behind the increasing corruption in the country.

Speaking at an interaction on justice, positive thinking and service organised by the High Level Administration Improvement Implementation and Monitoring Committee here today, CM Raut observed that the present level of corruption could be brought down if service delivery from government offices were made hassle-free.

“As the service delivery process at present is long and fraught with hassles, service seekers feel compelled to pay off the staff to get their work done quickly and easily, which is why corruption has been institutionalised in the country,” said the CM.

Further, Raut demanded that initiative to stamp out corruption be started from the top level itself. “If we are really for stamping out this scourge, the initiative must start from the higher-up itself of the government mechanism and from among us,” he said.

The chief minister observed that the employees’ adjustment done ‘by going against the standard procedure’ had created terror among employees deputed in the provincial and local levels.